Middle-Grade Novels
by Ruta Sepetys
With their mother, Willa, missing and presumed to have deserted and turned de facto on the British government, the Novis siblings are adrift. 19-year-old Jakob Novis thinks his younger sister Lizzie should return to America to live with their prim and exacting Gran. But headstrong Lizzie is determined to stay in England and prove not only that their mother is innocent but also that she's still alive.
Gifted in math and problem-solving, the pair are commissioned by the top-secret codebreakers of Bletchley Park to help crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher. However, when encrypted letters arrive at their apartment, addressed specifically to them, Jakob and Lizzie's talents are tested.
Please note: To evade a voyage to America, Lizzie sneaks away from her chaperone and disembarks a ship without him. Later, she is accidentally given an alcoholic drink but doesn't realize the mistake until after taking a few sips. The Lord's name is used in vain at least twice, one character refers to Hitler as being "d*mned," and Lizzie admits to having a crush on a boy that she befriends. Nothing comes of the crush, however. She only acknowledges her feelings out loud.
This fast-paced spy thriller, based on the true WWII Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park, has been slotted as a middle-grade by the publisher. That said, its complex storyline and complicated political/social dynamics would probably be best understood and appreciated by older tweens and young teens.
by Jean Van Leeuwen
Mary Ellen Todd is only nine when she joins her family in a wagon facing West. As the oldest of the three Todd girls, she feels a keen sense of responsibility for her younger siblings. Little does she know that in their six-month trek along the Oregon Trail, her family will face cholera, raging rivers, impassable mountains, wild animals, and so much more. Will they make it to their new land before winter, or will they, like so many others, succumb to the harsh conditions and have to turn back?
Fans of Little House on the Prairie will enjoy this historical fiction, based on the true story of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln's niece, Mary Ellen, whose father uprooted his family from their comfortable life in Arkansas to stake a claim in Oregon Territory.
Please note: One of the other fathers in the wagon train refers to enslaved black people as "n*ggers." Pa Todd quickly corrects the man and reiterates to his children that slavery is wrong, citing that all men and women are created in God's image. Additionally, the Todd family comes upon an encampment of dead Native Americans. The bodies are described as being stacked up like logs. While not a "Christian" book, the text references Scripture and prayer, and Pa repeatedly points his family to biblical principles.
By Michael Morpurgo
When war ravages his small community, Omar leaves Afghanistan and boards a ship headed to England to seek asylum. Alone. His widowed mother promises to join him later when she, too, can book safe passage. But his boat capsizes and sends the young boy into the ocean. He washes ashore on a small island inhabited by the Lilliputians. These little people remember a giant, much like Omar, who lived among them generations before. His name was Gulliver. They quickly assume this enormous boy is Gulliver's long-awaited son.
For the next three years, Omar and the tiny people learn to live with mutual respect and love. He helps them work and protect their land. And they help him grow up. But the Boy Giant misses his mother. Can he possibly find her? Is he willing to leave his friends behind to try?
This modern spin on Jonathan Swift's 18th-century classic, Gulliver's Travels, is a sweet, timeless story about the power of friendship and hope. Although the main character is a war refugee, it does not include political or activist tones.
by Natalie Babbitt
Nothing ever happens to Winifred "Winnie" Foster. Her mother and grandmother insist she stay inside, keep clean, and act like a lady. But Winnie wants adventure. She wants to leave sleepy, little Treegap and see the world! One day, while exploring the woods, she meets a peculiar boy drinking from a spring. Jesse Tuck, the youngest of the Tuck family, explains that the spring is a fountain of youth and warns her never to drink from it. Its waters will curse any drinkers by preventing them from aging, he explains. How could living forever be a curse? Winnie wanders. It sounds so exciting! Adventurous, even. She follows Jesse deeper into the woods to meet his family and learn the truth about the fantastical spring.
Unbeknownst to Jesse and Winnie, someone else has followed them home--a sinister man determined to find and sell the live-forever water.
If you have seen Disney's 2002 screen adaption, you may be wary of allowing an 8 to 12-year-old to read this book. Please note: the movie producer aged Winnie by five years and included several romantic and scary scenes that do not appear in the book.
Parents, Be Aware
by James R. Hannibal
13-year-old American Jack Buckles gets lost in London while looking for his younger sister, who is looking for their missing dad, and somehow wanders into the Lost Property Office. What appears to be a run-of-the-mill lost and found with an eccentric curator is actually the headquarters of a secret society known as The Ministry of Trackers. Jack learns that his father, who was presumed dead, was a tracker who was last scene hunting down the notorious Clockmaker. Now Jack, the "unlucky 13" as the Ministry calls him, must use his newly discovered "sparking" power to see fragmented visions of the past, recover the Ember that is believed to have caused the Great Fire of 1666, and prove that his dad is still alive before it's too late.
First, in the Section 13 trilogy, this is an action-packed spy thriller. I have not read the other two books in the series.
Things to know: Jack plays a video game featuring goblins and wizards. However, the game is only casually mentioned. Additionally, whenever Jack "sparks," he has visions that he believes to be ghosts (also called specters and vapers at different times throughout the story). He eventually learns that the images are actually just scenes from the past and that mental time travel is part of his "gift" as a tracker. Jack's female friend kisses him on the cheek.
Just for you, Mom
by Sarah Miller
Concord, Massachucettes, 1861. With her husband miles away, aiding the Union soldiers, Margaret March must put on a brave face for her four spirited girls. Money is scarce, and hope seems even scarcer. Ever the optimist, Marmee, as she's affectionately called, is determined to bring love and community to the downtrodden all around her.
One day, she receives a grim telegram from the front, demanding her immediate arrival. Her husband is ill and may not recover. With a few short words, Margaret's life turns upside down.
Marmee is a delightful rewrite of the beloved American classic Little Women, told through the thoughtful journal entries of a mother. Readers will enjoy seeing how much the original story changes when given an adult's perspective.
The author took some literary license to share Mr. and Mrs. March's backstory, including some marital struggles they overcame before and after the war.